I'm With You
by Between-A-Dream
Summary: A.U. Emily can no longer take living in Rosewood, so she packs her bags, writes a simple note, and leaves. The only problem? She had no idea where she's going, or how to get there. That is, until a mysterious stranger offers to give her a ride that turns into the most exciting adventure of her life. Emily and Maya/ Emaya love. Based on the song "I'm With You" by Avril Lavigne.
1. Need A Ride

_Hi guys! It's literally been forever since I wrote a new story, so I decided it was time. I found an old list I wrote of ideas for stories, most of them Emily and Maya. I didn't like many of them anymore because I wrote it when I was like 13, but I found one that I really liked so I decided to follow up on it. My ship is slowly dying, and even previous Emaya shippers are letting it go. I however am not. Emaya forever!_

* * *

Maybe it was a bad idea. Maybe she should just go back. But at this point, it was kind of late to be having second thoughts. Emily was already a few miles out of Rosewood, and the walking had taken her a good two hours. She didn't feel like turning around. Of course, if she did, there would be no way her mom would have known anything about it. If Pam had seen the note, the police would already be on their way to find her. Legally, though still just a newly graduated senior, she was an adult, but she knew her mom would throw a fit nonetheless. Which, in turn, was one of the reasons Emily was leaving.

Maybe she had been too vague with the note. Writing it had only taken about 5 minutes, most of it contemplating what to say, with the words, "Mom, I'm leaving. I don't know where to. Please don't send anybody, and please don't worry. I will be back soon. I love you. I just had to get away." Though she was sure her mom would call the police as soon as she saw the note, Emily had done her research and because she was 18 she legally was not considered a runaway. Behind her, she dragged a large suitcase with as many clothes in it as she could fit, as well as $2,500 she had from saving. In the backpack she carried was her laptop, her phone, a hair brush, and a few books.

Of course she was going to miss her family and her closest friends, but she knew that Hanna, Aria, and Spencer wouldn't go looking for her. They knew how badly she wanted to leave. She had promised to contact them from time to time if she were to leave anyways. Emily was so deep in her thoughts that she didn't hear the car that came up behind her. "Need a ride?"

The sound of the voice caught the swimmer off guard, and she turned her head. Stopped beside her was an old sea island blue car. In the driver's seat was a girl who looked to be about Emily's age. She had dark, long hair and even through the dark her eyes sparkled. "Oh, uh..." the athlete stuttered through her words, not wanting to ask the stranger to repeat herself.

The stranger laughed and put her car in park. "Come on, hop in," she opened her door and Emily immediately tensed up. She was not sure of this girl's intentions, and as if she sensed the jock's discomfort she laughed again. Her laugh was very melodic, and it calmed some of Emily's nerves. "I promise I'm not a psycho or anything," she giggled as she picked up the suitcase and opened the trunk, setting it among four other suitcases and a guitar already inside.

Hesitantly, Emily sat in the passenger's seat of the car. The stranger walked around and sat in the driver's seat, extending her hand. At first the motion caught the swimmer off guard and she slightly jumped, causing the girl in the driver's seat to chuckle. "Maya Anne St. Germain. 18 years old, guitar and piano player, absolutely crazy," she smiled as she introduced herself. Emily took her hand and felt her nerves once again calm down, while a different type of nerves bubbled in her stomach. "I'm Emily. Also 18, swimmer, kind of boring," the athlete introduced, blushing and laughing nervously.

"So where you headed Emily?" Maya asked flashing a smile towards the taller girl, turning on the engine, and starting down the road. "Well... I don't know actually... Anywhere but here," the athlete explained a bit embarrassed. "That's the best place to be going," Maya teased, again causing the taller girl to blush. "What about you? Where are you going?" Emily asked. "Everywhere. I plan to drive all over America," she smiled. "The entire country?" Emily asked, laughing a little. Though it did seem far fetched, it also seemed intriguing. The shorter girl beside her laughed. "Yep. I need some adventure in my life, so what better way then to visit everywhere I can," she explained.

"Where are you from?" the athlete continued. "I'm from Bridgewater. It's a small town in Maine. Literally, there are less than 1,000 people who live there. Everybody knows everybody and nothing new ever happens. I just had to get outta there. That place is so boring, and I needed a break," Maya explained. "Tell me about it. Rosewood isn't any better," Emily sighed. "That town just a few miles back?" the musician questioned. "Yep, that's the place," the athlete nodded. "Well aren't you lucky I came along," the artist beside her giggled.

Blushing, Emily nodded and laughed along with her. "Well... I don't plan on heading back anytime soon... Do you want some company?" the question surprised the jock more than it surprised Maya. "Honestly? I really would. I know Maine isn't that far from Pennsylvania, but I've already been pretty lonely. Another few days and I may have resorted to the "talking to myself" stage of going completely crazy," she gasped dramatically, causing both girls to laugh. "I thought you said you already were completely crazy," Emily teased. "Someone pays attention," the musician laughed. About half an hour passed, and the two made some small conversation, but other than the soft music of the radio, silence took over the car.

"Well, how about you get some sleep. We're gonna be driving for awhile and you look pretty tired," Maya eventually suggested. Grateful for the offer, the taller girl nodded and yawned a bit, leaning back in her seat and closing her eyes. For some reason, this strange girl did not scare her- instead there was something about her that made Emily's heart pound in her chest. She yawned again, let out a deep breath, and let sleep overtake her.

* * *

When Emily woke up, she was in a bed. Her eyes had not yet adjusted to the brightness, and she sat up quickly trying to clear her vision, fearing that the previous night had been a dream. As her sight returned, she could see that she was not in her own room, but what looked to be like a motel room. She looked around and rubbed her eyes a little, blinking as sunlight hit her face. "Good morning sunshine," the cheerful voice came from behind her and she turned to see Maya walk out in sweatpants and an oversized t-shirt, her hair damp.

"Morning... How did I... Where are we?" Emily asked, stretching her arms out over her head. "North Carolina," Maya responded, laughing a bit. "I rented a motel room. I figured we could enjoy a few days here before we hit the road again. That is, if you don't mind," the musician chuckled a little, sitting down on the edge of the bed. "No, not at all," Emily watched as the shorter girl picked up her guitar and strummed lightly.

"How long have you been playing?" the swimmer asked. "Since I was a little kid. Though when I first started I couldn't even get my hands around the neck," Maya blushed a light shade of pink, but it left as quickly as it had come.

Emily watched her play some light chords for awhile, but eventually the guitarist put her instrument down and looked over at her. "So, are you serious? About coming with me?" she asked. "Well, yeah. I have nowhere to go, so everywhere is pretty much as good a plan as any that I have," the swimmer explained. At that response, Maya smiled. "Well you should go shower and then we can go get something to eat. I don't know about you, but I'm starving," with a sly grin and a sparkle of mischief in her eye, Maya winked and walked out of the bedroom, leaving Emily alone on her bed, her face matching the color of the burgundy walls.

* * *

"So what's your story?" The question caught Emily off guard. She looked up from the table and across to the girl sitting in the seat opposite her. "What do you mean?" she asked, taking a sip of her water. "I mean, why are you out here with a total stranger instead of at home," Maya chuckled a bit. "Well, I mean you're not a _total_ stranger anymore. And I told you, I just had to get out of there," the swimmer answered, avoiding eye contact, which Maya noticed instantly. "Mhm. Come on Em, I told you why I left. There is literally not a single person in my town that I don't know the first name of. What's your story? Why did you leave Rosewood?"

Emily sighed, knowing she had no choice. "Well, first off, there's the town itself. It's small, crowded, noisy, and everyone knows everyone. Maybe not to your extent, but I can't go anywhere and just be myself. Not even at home. My mother is constantly on my case about everything, and she's not very supportive of who I am," her last words were quieter. "Who you are?" Maya questioned. "Well yeah... I'm gay... And she's not too happy about it. I get if you think that's, you know weird or anything," the athlete again avoided eye contact as she spoke, but she looked up when she heard a laugh.

Curious at what the musician found humor in, she watched as Maya pulled down her sleeve revealing a brightly colored rainbow bracelet. "Trust me, I don't find it weird at all," the guitarist laughed and threw a wink at the taller girl, who blushed and smiled. They spent the rest of breakfast making small talk, nothing that was important and nothing that was awkward between them. They talked as if they were old friends who had known each other for their entire lives. By the time they finished, an hour had passed. Finally, they decided it was time to leave. "Come on, we have some sight seeing to do. We'll be like Thelma and Louise," Maya laughed. "Weren't they like top notch criminals who robbed banks and then threw themselves off a cliff?" Emily giggled. "Details details," the musician sighed dramatically, and the two walked out of the restaurant together, both still laughing.

* * *

 **So what do you guys think? I actually wrote this story because in eighth grade I read a book called "Travels With Charlie" by John Stienbeck. It's a story about a man who drives over the country with his dog, and it was just about the worst thing my eyes have ever had the misfortune of reading. However, I liked the storyline of driving around the entire country, and after hearing "I'm With You" by Avril Lavigne the story idea came to me. I hope you guys enjoy because I think this will be a long one!**


	2. Electricity

_Hey guys! So I know it's a quick update, but I have a lot of inspiration for this story and I really have a lot of ideas! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! Even though I love my couple together, I am not having them get together until a lot later in the story. I still hope you guys enjoy though!_

* * *

It was around 9:30 at night. The sky was dark, the stars dull, and the waves low. Most of the beach was empty. There were two girls, however, who still remained. Maya lay on her back next to Emily, both in bikinis, both soaking wet from spending the day in the ocean. They lay still, their eyes closed but both still fully awake. They had spent the day on the beach laughing and swimming in the ocean.

Eventually, Emily broke the silence. "Hey Maya?" her voice was a low whisper as she looked over at her friend. "Hm?" the musician asked, not opening her eyes but letting out a quiet sigh. "Do you wanna take a walk with me?" the question brought Maya's mind to attention and she blinked her eyes open, smiling at the athlete. "Yeah, why not," she laughed. She stood and helped Emily stand as well, the two brushing themselves off and starting down the beach.

"So, you really grew up with just your dad?" Emily questioned as she looked over at her shorter friend. "Yep. One day my mom just packed her bags, took the car, and left with her 25 year old coworker," Maya laughed, but the swimmer wasn't sure if she was allowed to laugh as well. "So how did your dad handle raising a girl on his own?" she continued. "Well, he was pretty good about it, until I turned 12 and hit puberty," both girls laughed at this.

"What about you? You said you really only grew up with your mom?" Maya asked. "Yeah. My dad was in the coastguard, so I didn't see him much. When I did, he wasn't home for more than a few months," the jock explained. "That must've been hard on you and your mom," the guitarist placed her arm sympathetically on Emily's shoulder, and the two shared a small smile. Their moment was interrupted when suddenly the loud crash of thunder sounded from the skies and heavy rain poured down from the clouds. The two shrieked and, laughing, ran under a nearby pier.

Maya laughed and rung out her hair a little, but Emily instead decided to play a little. Shaking her hair wildly, she covered the shorter girl in water. The musician laughed, playfully shoving her friend, but jumping at the sudden flash of lightning. "Hey, it's alright," Emily comforted, giving her friends hand a comforting squeeze. "Sorry, I get jumpy," Maya admitted shyly, her face growing a slight red. She was thankful that under the cover of darkness, the swimmer could not see.

The two girls sat down, leaning against one of the supporting poles for the pier, and watched as lighting flashed in regular intervals over the dark ocean. Storm clouds swirled over head and the rain poured on. "Isn't it beautiful?" Emily's voice was barely audible over the rain. "The storm?" Maya questioned. "The storm, the lighting, the rain, all of it. I find it all very sad and beautiful," the swimmer continued. "How so?" the musician questioned.

"Well, the clouds are formed from the water of the earth. They exist from that. They build up more and more weight and mass, growing more as they take in more water. They continue to bear that weight, because if they don't then they cease to exist. When it finally becomes too heavy, they cry and release the water back to us. They roar and create thunder as cries of battle, and they attack their pain with lighting. But it's never enough, and they slowly fade to nothingness as the rain continues to pour. And then, just when everything goes back to calm, the cycle repeats itself," it was the most beautiful explanation of rain that Maya had ever heard. She was at a loss for what to say in response, so she simply grasped Emily's hand and watched the storm. There may have been plenty of electricity in the skies that night, but there was far more on the ground below.

* * *

Maybe it was extremely late, or maybe it was extremely early. Emily wasn't sure. All she knew was that it was still incredibly dark when she and Maya got back to the motel. They hadn't spoken much since the beach, but they were in a comfortable silence, not an awkward one. "I'm gonna go wash up," the musician's voice was soft and she smiled as she spoke. The swimmer nodded and flashed a small grin back to her friend as she walked into the bathroom. She heard the water running, and as she closed her eyes for a bit of relaxation she heard her laptop ringing. Groaning, she rolled over and opened her bag, pulling out her laptop and opening it.

It was a video chat request from Hanna. Laughing a bit and clicking accept, she watched as the screen popped up with the face of her three closest friends. "Emily! Where in god's name are you?" the blonde was the first to speak. The athlete laughed again. "Relax guys I'm fine, I just left. I told you I would," she explained. "We know, but you could've stopped by our houses and told us goodbye at least!" Aria looked a bit hurt. "Awe guys I'm sorry, but I didn't know if I had the time. It was an impulse decision, I wasn't planning on doing it that night until after school. And I didn't want anything to change my mind," Emily continued.

"Em, we would never have tried to force you to stay," Spencer promised. "I know you guys wouldn't have. But it would've made me want to stay anyways. Seeing you guys would've made me feel hurt about leaving, and I didn't want my mom to wake up before I was even out of Rosewood. I'm really sorry guys," the jock apologized. "We know Em. It's alright, we just wanted to make sure you were alright. Where are you anyways?" Hannah questioned. "I'm in North Carolina. Maya and I are staying here another day or two-" Emily started to answer but was cut off. "Wait, Maya? Who's that?" Hanna's eyes instantly lit up and the swimmer knew what she was thinking.

"Just a friend I met. She picked me up just outside town and offered me a ride, and then she explained she was driving through the whole country. And I asked if I could go with her, and she agreed," she explained. "Ok, first of all, why in hell would you get into some random stranger's car? Second of all, you're seriously going to drive through the whole country? Thirdly, do you know anything about this girl? Fourthly, your mom is going crazy trying to figure out where you are," Spencer rushed through her words. "Look I know it sounds crazy, but I feel close to this girl. I can't explain it, but I just... I feel like I am supposed to go with her. Like we were supposed to meet. And yes I know plenty about her. And about my mom... Well what has she been doing?" Emily finished with the question.

"She's called the police about five times and each of us about fifteen, but none of us knew where you were and the police won't do anything because you are legally an adult," Aria explained. "You guys... Aren't gonna tell her, right? I mean, you won't tell her where I am?" Emily was pretty sure they weren't going to anyways, but she was still nervous. "Of course not Em. We want you to be happy and you deserve to be yourself. It's not like you're a runaway 15 year old. You're a big girl and we trust you to make decisions," Hannah promised. The athlete smiled and was about to say something else when she heard the bathroom door open and saw her friend step out in shorts and a spaghetti strap tank top, her wavy hair still damp.

"Hey Em, who you talking to?" she asked smiling. "Just some friends from back home. I promise they won't rat me out or anything," Emily promised. Maya grinned and walked over to her friend's side. "Hey, I'm Maya," she explained to the three girls on camera. The taller girl beside her noticed Hanna's eyes light up when she saw her. "Nice to meet you Maya, I'm Hanna, and this is Aria and Spencer. We're Emily's friends from her hometown," the blonde introduced herself and the others.

"Nice to meet you all. I hope you're not worried or anything, I promise Emily is perfectly ok," Maya laughed a bit nervously. "We know, we just wanted to say hi! Well we should probably get going, it's getting really late, but we can talk more later, nice to meet you Maya, see you later Em!" with that Hanna ended the call and left the two girls laughing. "Sorry about them, they were just worried," the swimmer apologized. "Oh it's no bother, them seem nice" the musician giggled a bit. "You're... Sleeping on the couch?" Emily questioned as she watched her friend set down her pillow. "Yeah, I slept here last night too," she chuckled. The thought of where her friend had slept the previous night hadn't even occurred to her.

"God I feel selfish, please, you sleep in the bed, you paid for this," Emily hastily picked up her pillow. "Don't feel selfish, you don't need to. It's fine, I promise you," the shorter girl assured her friend. "Then... At least sleep up here too. I don't want you being uncomfortable. I mean, if it's not uncomfortable to share a bed," the athlete's voice was shaking and she was overly nervous. "I um... It's not uncomfortable for you, is it?" Maya blushed and the taller girl shook her head no. They didn't speak much as they finished getting ready for bed. Emily took a shower and dried her hair, and by the time she walked back into the room the guitarist was already fast asleep.

Climbing into bed beside her, Emily yawned and closed her eyes, trying to get comfortable. Her body was begging her to relax, but her heart was pounding and she could feel every muscle tensing inside her body. As she lay still, she felt an arm drape over her waist. She wasn't sure what to do. She didn't want to wake her friend, but she also didn't want Maya to wake up with her arm still around her, in case it was uncomfortable. Finally, she decided against her instinct. She let out a shaky breathe, lifted her arm, and placed it over the musician's. Maya's body slowly pressed closer to the swimmer's, and Emily smiled. She could feel electric sparks surging through her body. Yawning and closing her eyes, she curled up tighter under the covers, letting a deep, relaxing sleep overtake her.

* * *

 **Hey guys! So yes, I used a scene from episode two of the actual show. Sue me. Honestly, there are a few scenes I will love forever and will use randomly throughout stories I have, and this one fit perfectly with the scene. Sorry this chapter was kind of on the short side and there wasn't a lot of excitement, but I promise next chapter will be our girls back out on the road and headed to their next destination! I hope you guys enjoy, please read and review! And by the way, I do plan on updating a lot of stories I have very soon! Ciao!**


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